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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bat — the animal
  4. plane — a tool
  5. march — music
  6. perch — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. spell — magic
  10. toast — bread
  11. band — a ring
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. band — a music group
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spell — letters
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spell — a short time
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. plane — an aircraft

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com